[GHC] #10172: Cross-platform sed

[GHC]

#10172: Cross-platform sed
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              Reporter:  ezyang      |             Owner:
                  Type:  task        |            Status:  new
              Priority:  normal      |         Milestone:
             Component:  Build       |           Version:  7.11
  System                             |  Operating System:  Solaris
              Keywords:              |   Type of failure:  None/Unknown
          Architecture:              |        Blocked By:
  Unknown/Multiple                   |   Related Tickets:
             Test Case:              |
              Blocking:              |
Differential Revisions:              |
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 It's quite easy to accidentally use GNU extensions in sed expressions,
 which means Solaris builds start failing. See
 https://phabricator.haskell.org/D740 for an example.

 What should we do? Here are a few possibilities:

 * Force use of POSIX sed with `--posix` flag. I haven't tested, but maybe
 this won't work if Solaris sed chokes on the `--posix`. Alternately, use
 `$(SED)` and add `--posix` only if it's supported
 * Detect GNU sed in autoconfigure and use `$(SED)` in all Makefile scripts
 * Stop using sed in the scripts for something else

 I don't know if this admonition applies to other random POSIX tools we
 use.

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Ticket URL: <http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/10172>
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